Microsoft Hires Yahoo Data Center Chief

Microsoft has hired Kevin Timmons, previously the head of Yahoo's data center team, to lead its Data Center Services organization, the company said today. Timmons joined Microsoft Global Foundation Services (GFS) today, becoming the second member of the Yahoo team to move to Microsoft this year.

In April Microsoft hired Yahoo executive Dayne Sampson for a key position at GFS. Shortly afterward, Microsoft data center executive Michael Manos left the company for a new position at Digital Realty Trust.

Timmons was vice president of Operations at Yahoo!, where he led the build-out of their data centers and infrastructure. Before that he was a director of Operations at GeoCities, and prior to that he served as a senior software engineer at Marconi Dynamics.

"Kevin is known as a hands-on leader with a great grasp on the issues in his field and a keen interest in increasing energy efficiency," wrote Arne Josefsberg, the General Manager of GFS, in a blog post. "One of the key ways he has approached that challenge was by closely measuring efficiency at each data center and using PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) as a key metric—a strategy that helped build more efficient data centers. Kevin also brings valuable experience and know-how in the field of data center site selection."

"Anyone familiar with our areas of focus in Microsoft data centers, especially around environmental sustainability, will recognize the great fit Kevin’s experiences bring to the team," Josefsberg added. "In sitting down with him and exploring these areas in depth, I’ve become increasingly excited about the industry experience Kevin brings to our team."

Josefsberg said GFS has restructured its Infrastructure Services team around five teams: Shared Infrastructure, Programmable Infrastructure, Platform Hardware and Standards, Global Network Services, and the Data Center Services team. He said the organizational changes "will help us align our teams with Microsoft’s evolving cloud computing business and position our infrastructure for the upcoming year and beyond."